Metropoli Fund at 68th Venice International Film Festival. August 31 – September 4, 2011
One of the outstanding events under the official program of Venice biennale was the “Russian soiree” organized by Panorama TV Magazine and Metropoli Fund.
On September 3, the cinema forum headquarters – hotel Westin Excelsior Venice – opened their doors for admirers of Russian culture. Soiree guests represented the creative and diplomatic circles of Italy and Russia: head of biennale Luigi Cuciniello, the delegation of film festival in Taormina under the supervision of Debora Young, partners of Panorama TV Magazine — heads of leading companies from Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russian documentalist Viktor Kossakovsky whose film “Long Live the Antipodes!” opened the 68th Venice Film Festival.
The representative of Florence Municipality Viviana del Bianco gave a memorial badge from mayor of Florence Matteo Renzi for Alexander Sokurov. The Russian consul in Milan Alexey Paramonov accepted the award: “For impressive career in the field of cinema and literature”.
In response he thanked the authorities of Florence and, continuing the initiative of Florence, gave the medal: “For serving the Motherland and strengthening of friendship between Russia and Italy” to the Gazprom-Media representative in Italy Igor Danilov. After ceremonial addresses and words of gratitude, the soloist of Mariinsky Theatre Olga Pudova sang for the soiree guests. She sang several works of the classic repertoire and the Russian romances so loved by the Italian audience.
